Pokemon Stories
by TheFauxWriter
Summary: After the Kalos League was delayed, Ash and his friends decided to spend more time exploring and training. After an incident in the cave of mirrors however, Ash finds himself in a new world, with creatures more dangerous than he has ever seen before. At the same time, a rebuilding Team Cipher narrowly escapes capture, and finds themselves with a new world to dominate.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own neither Pokemon nor Monster Hunter. I wish, MH: Stories would have a sequel by now if I did.**

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 _"Pokedex/Monster Encyclopedia entry"_

 _Somewhere in the Orre region_

"Gorigan, sir! The base is under attack!" the panicked Cipher grunt exclaimed, bursting into his superior's quarters in a panic.

Gorigan-who had been reading the latest reports on the status of their batch of shadow pokemon at his desk-looked up in surprise at the sudden intrusion into his private quarters. "So, they've found us, have they…" he muttered under his breath, with a look of distaste replacing the surprise on his face. Sighing loudly, he got up and headed out of his office, the grunt hurriedly getting out of his way before falling into step behind the large man.

"What do we do?" the grunt asked worriedly, struggling to keep up with Gorigan's quick pace. How was he so fast when he used his knuckles to walk like an infernape? Gorigan's initial reply was a derisive snort. "Against Lance, the Champion of both Kanto and Johto? Very little. Not even all of Cipher's admins together stand a chance against him. I'm surprised that we haven't heard any expl…"

At that moment, a massive explosion rocked the base, knocking the two down and showering them with dust and small chunks of debris. Coughing and hacking into his sleeve, Gorigan reached into his pocket as he rose from the floor and procured a communication device that he stuck in his ear. "Status report! What happened?!" he shouted into the devices microphone in between fits of coughing.

For a few seconds, all that answered him was static. Then, a female voice sounded on the other end. "It's Lance sir! He hit our doors with a hyper beam from his dragonite. They're in bad shape, but holding so far. What are our orde…?" Before the woman speaking could finish, the line cut out, replaced with a buzz of static. Their communications were being jammed.

The Cipher admin cursed under his breath. Though they had known that the dragon master was looking for them, the Cipher leadership had been under the assumption he was still in Johto. They had believed their spy network would have caught on to a champion in their region. Apparently, their spies were as incompetent as most of the other grunts in their organization. Caught completely by surprise, they didn't have the time to marshal their forces for a defense, or organize an escape. They seemed to be trapped. However…

There was one option. A last-ditch plan, to be sure, and one that wouldn't necessarily work. The reason that the base had been built right on top of this cave system in the first place. At first only to study the strange phenomena that happened within, to potentially increase Cipher's power. However, it was theorized that it would also make do as an emergency escape route. Nodding to himself, the admin made his decision.

As he began to turn towards the grunt, who had just finished picking himself up off the floor after the blast, his instincts screamed at him to turn out of the way. Obeying them immediately, he twisted to his right, seeing a throwing star scrape by his cheek where the back of his head had been a split-second earlier. Turning to where the weapon had come from, Gorigan felt his blood run cold.

Out of the shadows of the corridor stepped a man clad in a black and purple ninja's uniform with a red scarf around his neck. Gorigan immediately recognized him. It was the 'poisonous ninja master' Koga. A few years ago, he had been just a gym leader in Kanto, but he had worked his way up to becoming a member Johto's Elite Four. What was most frightening about the man, however, was not his skill with pokemon, but in his ninja arts. He had trained extensively in his own ninja clan, as well as the hidden clan in Kalos. His skills ranged from infiltration and espionage…to assassination.

'Lance's attack, and the explosion…they were just a diversion!' he realized, his already cold blood freezing a few degrees more. Thinking quickly, he knew what he had to do. Reaching for his belt, he pulled out a single pokeball. Across the way, his soon-to-be opponent drew one as well, with a small smirk on his otherwise impassive face.

Not turning away from his opponent, the Cipher admin glanced toward the trembling grunt who was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily. Under his breath, just loud enough for his subordinate to hear, Gorigan ordered, "Get to Lovrina in the lab, and tell her to pack up and initiate the Twisted Reflection protocol. She'll know what I mean. Get going, now!" The last part of his order was shouted, as the terrified grunt looked too scared to move. After the shout, however, he needed no more motivation. He disappeared down the cracked hallway immediately, all too glad to get away from such a deadly adversary.

Koga watched on, waiting to get past his current obstacle. The man had talent, that much was obvious after managing to both detect and even dodge his shuriken. However, the admin wasn't his main target. His mission wasn't to amputate the arms and legs of Cipher. His goal was a lobotomy: cut off the head of the ekans, and the rest of the body would die with it. He needed to find Ardos, Eldes, and Greevil, and end this quickly. It had taken months to find the location of this base without tipping off any of the spies they knew Cipher had, and he didn't want them to go to ground and disappear again. Narrowing his eyes, Koga came to a decision. _'I'll just have to speed past this man, and avoid fighting him.'_

As Koga rushed forward, intent on shooting past his opponent, Gorigan opened the pokeball he had palmed a few moments ago. With a shout of "Mean Eye!" a gengar appeared in front of the oncoming ninja. Immediately, multiple eyes phased into existence, glaring at the onrushing elite and freezing him in his tracks.

"Damn," Koga swore, realizing his mistake. There was nothing for it, he would have to defeat his opponent, and quickly. As he looked on, the Cipher admin pulled out a second pokeball, and tossed it into the air, while shouting "Go, Shadow Hypno!" The pokemon that appeared from the ball resembled a normal hypno, but Koga knew better than to let appearances fool him. If it was indeed a shadow pokemon, and the malicious intent in its eyes led him to believe it was so, then he would have to be very careful.

Taking out a couple of pokeballs of his own, Koga considered his situation for a moment before he released his partners. The hallway they were in was pretty plain, made out of concrete and without any sort of decoration. However, it was also fairly spacious. Maybe they transported supplies through it? No matter, that would just give the ninja more room to work with. Glancing down, he noticed large cracks in the floor, running the entire length of the corridor. An idea started to form in his mind, before quickly finalizing into a plan.

Looking back at his opponent, he depressed the buttons on the balls in his hand. Two figures emerged in a burst of light, before becoming recognizable. The first was a large purple moth-like pokemon, a venomoth. The second was red spider-like pokemon, his ariados. They were some of his most experienced fighters, and would certainly help him end this battle quickly.

After a few moments of tense silence, the Cipher admin started off the battle. "Gengar, Night Shade on the venomoth! Shadow Hypno, Shadow Storm!" Immediately, the gengar's eyes widened, a red glow coming from them as it turned its gaze toward the large moth. At the same time, the corrupted hypno released a spinning vortex of dark energy, before directing it toward the bug types. Koga, however, wasn't going to just sit there and do nothing.

"Ariodos, use spider web on the Gengar! Venomoth, counter the shadow storm with Silver Spore, max coverage" he commanded, causing his partners to spring into action. Venomoth's wing started fluttering faster, and yellow-tinted silver particles began appearing before shooting off towards his opponents. Meanwhile, the ariados spat a glob of sticky webbing at the ghost-type, the bug-type move shooting off at an impressive speed.

The webbing sailed toward, then straight through the gengar, having no effect and splattering onto the ground to its trainers right. Meanwhile, the Shadow Storm and modified Silver wind clashed together, with the latter move quickly overcoming the shadow-typed move and spreading towards the ghost and yellow humanoid. The admin's view of his opponents became distorted, then almost completely covered by the sheer size and spread of the moth's move.

"Gengar, use Shadow Sneak to dodge and then attack the ariados! Shadow Hypno, bear it and then use Shadow down!" the ape-like man countered, hoping that the wide-ranging move would affect his obscured enemies.

The admin's hopes were almost immediately dashed, however. The gengar was able to dive into its own shadow, but that was about as far as it got. Another shadow darted forward, smashing the gengar right out of it's shadow, before the Silver Wind variant hit both of his pokemon, knocking them back and severely damaging them both. As the wind cleared, both pokemon struggled to get to their feet before their bodies spasmed. They were paralyzed. _'Stun Spore in the Silver Wind!'_ Gorigan realized, a sense of panic rising in him. Almost immediately, a second Silver Wind-this one normal-hit his paralyzed pokemon, instantly knocking them both out.

His sense of panic rising, Gorigan returned his downed pokemon. Looking towards his now-unobscured opponent, he began another delaying tactic. "Why did your ariados use Shadow Sneak as well? And your venomoth use Silver Wind? I didn't hear you call out any commands," he asked, hoping to get the Elite to waste time talking to him. And the tactic seemed to work.

"Simple. Though they may not have the ability, Ariados and Venomoth do have compound eyes. They can see me even when facing away from me. I trained them to make specific responses to certain hand signals. Not quite as effective as a psychic telepathing their orders, but the tactic is still quite useful," the ninja stated.

" _That's right, keep talking,"_ thought Gorigan, his hand slowly reaching towards his belt to summon more pokemon. If he could just keep him talking, the others would have a better chance to get away…

"You're probably wondering why I'm wasting time talking to you, when my priorities are elsewhere," the purple-clad man continued, causing the Cipher admin to pause. Why _was_ he wasting his time talking? The man was an elite ninja, most likely sent to destroy the head of his organization. He wouldn't waste time standing around explaining his techniques. Quite the opposite: he wouldn't explain his techniques to anyone, period. So why…?

"It's quite simple really," continued his opponent. "I needed to keep you distracted long enough for Muk to make his way over to you."

Immediately after the poison master's statement, a wave of purple sludge emerged from the crack in the floor to his left, causing him to curse and stumble away from the poison type slowly coming towards him. Almost immediately though, his feet and knuckles got entangled in some sort of sticky substance. Looking down, he realized that he had gotten stuck in the webbing shot toward him earlier.

It all clicked into place in the admins mind, as the purple goo slowly made its way up his form, apparently intent on smothering him within its vile body. He had been led into a trap, the entire time. The sticky webbing? Meant to trap him to the floor and keep him still long enough for the slow-moving muk to reach him. The wide-ranging, vision-blocking Silver Wind? Meant to keep him from seeing the Muk, wherever it had come from, as it traversed the crack in the floor. The talking, and explaining his techniques? Meant to give the muk the time it needed to get to him. But where had the pokemon come from? Even through the cloud of silver the venomoth had kicked up, he would have noticed it being released.

As the master ninja recalled his own pokemon, the pollution pokemon finally covered the admins head, cutting off his air flow. He struggled weakly for a few seconds, then went still. As Koga walked over to his now-unconscious foe, the his muk slithered off the ape-man's form, and started making its way towards him. Koga briefly considered killing the man; he was an enemy leader, and it wouldn't take but a second to slit his throat. However, he could be useful for intel later. And if he proved useless, well…his clan needed victims to practice their torture and interrogation techniques on.

Koga stooped down and held out his arm towards his purple partner. Muk soon slithered onto his arm, and from there it spread its body to cover his upper body and chest area, conforming itself to look like nothing more than clothing. There was a reason the ninja always wore purple. Now, to find his real targets.

 _Elsewhere in the Cipher Base_

"All right grunts, pack up the essentials and prepare to move out!" a pink-haired scientist shouted, causing a flurry of motion as grunts and other scientists started packing the most essential equipment and downloading files onto hard drives. A moment ago, a gibbering-with-fear grunt had sprinted out of a service hallway, with the news that base manager Gorigan had encountered the Elite Four Koga, and was attempting to delay him. The grunt had also mentioned that Gorigan had ordered initiating the 'Twisted Reflection' protocol.

Hearing this, Lovrina had acted immediately. She knew that Gorigan would only order that protocol if it were absolutely necessary. And the fact that Koga of all people was in the base, while Lance was outside of it trying to bust in, validated his decision. It was time to leave.

"Have Greevil and his bodyguards been evacuated yet? And what about Snattle?" she asked a passing grunt, making him pause.

"I saw them being led toward the tunnels just moments ago, ma'am. I believe I heard them arguing about something," the grunt replied, before continuing to pack away some sensitive equipment.

' _Good,'_ the young scientist thought, before pulling out a small remote. _'Then I can use this to buy us some time. The grunts outside are all just cannon fodder anyway.'_ And with that, she pressed a button on the remote.

Immediately, the entrances from the main part of the base to the laboratories, as well as the cave system connected to them, became blocked by large steel doors. It wouldn't hold forever, but it might just buy them enough time to get away.

At the same time, the argument between Cipher's Grand Master and his body guards was heating up.

"It's foolish, unnecessary, and extremely dangerous!" an irate Ardos exclaimed, face reddening in frustration. Greevil had gotten it into his head that he had to leave one last parting shot to the invaders, and was adamant about doing so.

"That it may be," replied the Cipher Grand Master, with a tone of forced calmness. "But I don't truly care. These 'heroes' have been a thorn in my side, and I abhor the thought of them invading my base and getting off scot-free. And besides," he continued, as he pulled out a pokeball from its place on the belt underneath his robes. A wicked grin split his face as he rolled the sphere around in his palm before enlarging it. "This will be an excellent opportunity to test the power of our newest addition."

 _Hallways of Cipher Base_

Lance marched forward through the hallways of the base, passing by the bodies of unconscious humans and pokemon alike, cape fluttering behind him. Well, most were unconscious. Anyone standing near the doors when his partner blasted them off their hinges were most likely gone.

Passing a group of groaning grunts, the dragon-master found one that still looked relatively awake, though obviously too hurt to move. Reaching down, he gathered the front of the man's shirt in his fist and, in an impressive show of strength, hauled him up and held him against the wall.

"Where is your leader?" he asked, eyes as hard as rock. If the look in the champion's eyes wasn't already enough to scare answers out of the terrified grunt, the massive dragonite growling behind him did the trick. The smell of ammonia filled the air, as the peon lost control of his bowels.

"Th-th-they're in the lab!" the grunt cried, pointing desperately down the hall. Loyalty was all well and good, but he hadn't signed up for this!

"Are you sure?" questioned Lance, digging the knuckles of his fist into the man's chest. The grunt gasped in pain, a small amount of blood starting to come from the corners of his mouth. Internal damage from the blast, most likely.

"Y-y-yes!" the injured man gasped, desperate to stop the pain.

"Good," the champion replied before slamming the man's head back into the wall, knocking him unconscious. No sense in letting a potential enemy stay awake. Releasing his grip on the knocked-out grunt's shirt, Lance continued down the hall he had been pointed towards. Dragonite followed him, before letting out a questioning growl.

Though he couldn't understand the words exactly, Lance had been with his partner long enough to get the gist of what he was asking. "Yes," he sighed, not faltering in his pace. "We're going to go all out. Capture if possible, but don't hesitate to take out the target if necessary."

Dragonite let out an understanding huff. Lance may be able to take a life when necessary, but he wasn't trained for it like Koga had been. Nevertheless, their enemy was that dangerous. Team Cipher couldn't be allowed to continue existing, not with their goals and ambitions.

Continuing on, the cape-wearing champion soon came to a corner, from which he heard some sort of sizzling noise. Peering around the corner, he found Koga standing in front of a metal wall, cutting off access further in to the base. Two of his pokemon, his muk and his toxicroak, were repeatedly using toxic on the wall, acrid smoke coming off it.

Though he hadn't made any noise, the Elite Four ninja still somehow sensed his presence. Turning around and looking at Lance, the poison master began explaining the situation without preamble. "I was delayed by a Cipher Admin, and upon reaching this corridor found this wall coming down from above. I was unable to get inside in time."

"I thought that was your thing," Lance replied with a grin, which earned him an irritated huff from his friend. Walking over to the slab of metal in their way, the champion had to let out a small whistle. The door had to be at least a yard thick, and obviously treated to withstand toxins and acids, as the poison types had made very little headway.

"Stand back." Lance commanded, also stepping back behind his dragon partner. Knowing what was coming, Koga quickly recalled his pokemon, before joining his leader behind the champion-level dragon. Though, not without a small jab at his friend. "Ah yes, the brute-force method. How original."

Lance merely grinned before replying, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Then, turning towards his starter, Lance gave the command. "Hyper Beam."

Inside the lab, one section of the defensive doors exploded outward. Smoke billowed from the wreckage, though it was quickly dispersed. As the two intruders made their way through the used-to-be-a-wall, the lab that they were looking for came into view. Or, what was left of it at least. It looked as if it had been stripped of everything that wasn't bolted down, and even some pieces of equipment that had been.

Across the lab from them, a man stood in front of the entrance to another corridor, pokeball in his hand. Though he looked like a harmless old man, Lance and Koga recognized him immediately. This was their target, Greevil.

Lance stepped forward, his dragonite following his example and standing in front of his trainer, adopting a threatening stance. "Greevil," Lance exclaimed, raising his voice so he could be heard in the large, high-ceilinged room, "surrender immediately, and drop that pokeball! You are under arrest!"

The Grandmaster of Cipher, however, just let out an amused chuckle. "He he he…Your posturing is…amusing, at best." Before either Lance or Koga could react, the robed man threw his pokeball into the air, shouting, "Behold! This is the power of shadow pokemon! XD 001, Shadow Blast!"

To his two opponents shock, and horror, a lugia burst forth from the ball, screaming in rage before leveling a malevolent glare at the dragon master and his ally. But this lugia was different than what the legendary species was supposed to look like.

Instead of a white body and wings with a blue underbelly, it was a malicious shade of dark purple, with its stomach and back fins a tarnished silver. It's eyes glowed red, glowing with a wicked intent, while the fins above its eyes were jagged and the same tarnished silver as its stomach.

More than that though, it's form was smaller than reports suggested. The two spikes on the end of its tail were slightly blunt, and the plates on its back were slightly smaller. It looked…young.

"XD 001!" Greevil cried, drawing the attention of the corrupted legendary. "Shadow Blast! Obliterate them!"

Lance's eyes widened in shock and fear before crying, "Dragonite, Hyper Beam! Full power!"

The young, corrupted Lugia tilted it head back, before unleashing a massive beam of dark energy from its maw, shockwaves from the blast nearly covering its form. At nearly the same time, Lance's Dragonite opened its maw, and a blast of white energy spilled forth, heading on a direct collision course with the shadow blast. The two attacks met in the middle of the abandoned lab, a loud roar filling the air as they struggled for supremacy before promptly exploding.

The blast threw Koga, Lance, and Dragonite back, a massive cloud of debris and smoke filling the air. The shockwave also ripped up the ground, cracking the floor and ceiling. A few seconds later the smoke was blown away, the heavily damaged but still-conscious dragonite sending a small gust of wind from his wings to clear it. As the rest of the smoke cleared, Lance groaned in frustration from his position on the shattered floor.

Where the tunnel Greevil had been in once was, a collapsed pile of rubble now stood, effectively blocking pursuit. Both Greevil and the corrupted Lugia were nowhere to be seen. As he rose, Lance turned toward Koga, who was also just picking himself off the floor. "I suppose it's too much to hope that he's buried underneath all that, isn't it?" he asked, earning a curt nod from the ninja.

Looking around the now-destroyed lab, Lance realized that simply having Dragonite blast through the rubble probably wasn't the smartest of ideas. The ceiling looked like a Golem had used earthquake on it, and even as he looked, bits of rubble were still crumbling from above. Any explosions would more than likely lead to the entire cavern collapsing around them. Glancing at the Kanto-native ninja, the two men shared a quick nod before Koga dashed off. Lance knew he was looking for an alternate route through, though the chances of him finding one was more than unlikely. They would need to bring in professionals to clear the rubble safely, and that could take days, if not weeks with the amount of damage done. Cipher would likely be long gone by then.

Turning around, cape billowing behind him, the champion returned Dragonite before walking toward the luckily undamaged exit. Though they had taken down the base, and dealt Cipher a crippling blow, they had ultimately failed their mission. He couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that came over him. He had a bad feeling that a great many people would suffer for their failure.

* * *

Chief Omna looked out from the entrance from the Hall of Rites. Situated on a large ledge on the side of a mountain, the view his location provided was impressive. Below him, and across the chasm, his village lay sprawled out, the buildings shadowed by the mountain they had been built beside. Spray from the waterfall to his left kept the temperature cool, and the sound of falling water nearly drowned out all other sounds. Nearly. Quiet, inquisitive chirps and shrills could be heard alongside the laughter of their newest rider-to-be from inside the cave, bringing a smile to his ancient face. It was good to know that despite the hardships he had endured, Lute could still find joy in life quite easily.

Outside the cave however, a more serious event was taking place. As the village elder watched, a group of riders, alongside their azuros, dragged the final pieces of wood into the new barricade surrounding the village. Not even a year ago, their village had been the epitome of peace. A small group of riders had been sufficient to ward off the occasional bulldrome or yian kut-ku that wandered through. Now, a tall wall of logs, topped with sharpened spikes surrounded them. It was a testament to how quickly that tranquility had fled.

Hearing the doors to the Hall open, Omna turned and faced the young man emerging. His chocolate-brown hair was mostly hidden underneath the hood of his new rider armor, which he had dyed red and blue in honor of the rathalos hatchling that had perished defending him and his friends so many months ago. On his back he wore the simple iron greatsword that he had chosen to wield, and his new kinship stone shone brightly on the gauntlet the held it. Though, the ancient elder's interest was soon focused on the form slightly hidden behind the youth, poking its head out to observe him.

The young velociprey that Lute had hatched was a fine specimen, with vivid, sky-blue scales, and deep blue claws. It shuffled nervously on its hind legs, its large toe claw tapping the ground with anxiety, while its foreclaws were kept close to its white underbelly. Though it now only reached as high as his knees, the wyverian knew that it would grow quite quickly in the next few months. By the time the second part of the kinship ritual arrived in six months, the newborn would have grown into a mature velocidrome, and be big enough to ride. Even now it seemed to be twitching with energy, ready to run off at a moment's notice.

Looking back up at Lute, Omna said "Now that the kinship ritual is done, it looks like your monstie needs to run!"

Lute merely nodded his head, his smile and a quick grunt showing his agreement with the rhyme before running off, his newest companion bolting after him immediately. Chuckling quietly to himself, Omna once again looked out over his village, his family. Near the gates, something caught his attention. Dan, the head rider and man in charge of village security, was taking a small group of riders out, most likely to patrol for threats. Omna's smile slid from his face, and he whispered a quick prayer to the sapphire star to keep him safe.

Turning, the village elder began to make his way towards the village, going the same was as Lute and his new partner, though as a more leisurely pace. Eventually he arrived at his home, separated from the rest of the village by the chasm, though accessible by the sturdy bridge that spanned the gap. Making his way inside, Chief Omna took a moment to look around his home. As always, his eyes almost immediately gravitated toward the two stone murals that took up nearly the entire portion of his back wall. The first depicted the Tale of the Five, of how their world had come to be. The second, however, was of the Legend of Redan and the Guardian. Walking up to the mural, the village chief ran his withered hands over the carving.

The village elder sighed, closing his eyes and lowering his head. This legend was dear to him, and its words carried great power, but also a warning. The darkness, the blight was coming again. Hopefully, more saviors would rise up to defeat it.

* * *

Ash looked up from the PC he was using as he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Looking behind him, he surveyed the lobby of the Pokemon center he was in, looking for its source. Finding nothing out of the ordinary however, the young boy turned back around and shrugged it off. It was probably nothing.

 **A/N: And so, the story begins. This is my first time really trying to write a fic. Though it's technically my second, my first story never really got off the ground. I had just kind of started writing whatever came to mind, without a plan on where I wanted it to go. Much more prepared this time!**

 **As with most authors, reviews and PM's are much appreciated! I enjoy constructive criticism, and need it in order to improve my writing. Flames, however, will be ignored.**

 **As of right now, I'm not sure on how I'm going to handle an update schedule. I work long hours on a graveyard shift, while trying to have a life as well. For now, updates will just come when they come. Hopefully I'll be able to work out a schedule eventually. However, I'll try to make sure the next update comes within a couple of weeks. Until then, peace out!**

 **TheFauxWriter**


	2. Chapter 2

A young noibat was just waking up, having slept most of the day away as nocturnal pokémon usually do. Noibat liked this cave. It was peaceful here; not many trainers passed by, especially at this time of the year. He'd heard it was something to do with some big contest a ways away or something, but the zigzagoon that had told him about it hadn't been very specific. Or focused for that matter, distracted by the many shiny lights and glittering crystals around. Those were common in the Cave of Mirrors.

Shaking his head to help wake himself up, Noibat looked out of the little hole in the rock wall he used to get in and out of his cave. It was nearing dusk, and the little bat took a second to admire the view. Sunsets, even ones that were just starting, were amazing to look at, with the gorgeous purple and orange hues melding together. And the light reflecting off patches of still-damp grass from yesterday's rain shone just like the crystals that his cave was known for. As he was about to take off, the purple bat picked up some strange noises with his sensitive ears. Settling down to watch, the bat was soon able to see the noise-makers. Surprisingly, it was a group of humans, who were walking towards the main entrance to the Cave of Mirrors. Children, from the looks of them, though the dragon and flying type wasn't all that knowledgeable on the species.

The first, and loudest, of the bunch was a young man with a yellow rodent on his shoulder, a Pikachu if he remembered right, and messy, raven-black hair kept in check under a red hat. He also wore a blue and white jacket, with black fingerless gloves and blue jeans rounding out his outfit. Right behind him were two females. The first one looked about the young man's age with honey-blonde hair hidden under a dark-pink hat. She also wore a white and red dress and skirt combination with a small blue bow on the front. The other female was younger and smaller, with a small ponytail of hair the color of Amphorus fur, a brown shirt and a white skirt. She also had a small bag hanging by her side with a dozing dedenne inside of it. Trailing behind them was another young man, with the same yellow hair as the younger female. He wore a light blue jumpsuit with yellow stripes on the legs, along with a large metal-looking backpack. ' _No wonder he's behind the others_ , the noibat thought, _that thing must weigh a ton!'_

After another moment of watching them, the young dragon decided to remain in his little nest for the night. While they didn't look particularly threatening, he had no desire to be caught. He had a supply of Yache berries kept in a cool alcove to keep them fresh, so he would have some food for the night. He should probably eat them before a rattata got to them anyway.

XxXxX

"Come on guys, we're almost there!" Ash shouted, looking back at the forms of his friends. "I want to explore a little bit before the sun goes down!"

Behind him, Serena gave him a slightly exasperated smile, obviously amused at his excitement. Beside her, Bonnie gave a giggle, evidently just as amused. She turned herself around, walking backwards for a moment, only long enough to call out to her struggling brother, "Come _ooonnn,_ Clemont, hurry up before Ash leaves you behind!" before turning back around, her hand in front of her mouth trying to hold in her laughter.

Ash paused as he got a look at Clemont, slowing down long enough for Serena and Bonnie to catch up with him. It was obvious that the young inventor was struggling to keep up. A sheen of sweat could be seen covering his forehead, even from a distance, and his breathing was slightly ragged.

"Maybe we should start looking for a campsite for the night?" asked Serena, obviously noting Clemont's exhausted state as well. While he really wanted to keep going, Ash knew that his friend was probably right. The sun was already starting to set, drowning out the sea of blue sky with a cascade of red and orange fire. Nodding his head in agreement, the small group waited for a moment for their friend to catch up.

After a few moments, Clemont stumbled to a stop next to his friends, immediately bending at the waist with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "You doing alright?" Ash asked, a slight frown crossing his face. Clemont wasn't usually this slow.

Eventually the yellow-haired boy straitened up, a look of mareepishness on his face. "Yes, I'm fine. I recently made some modifications to my pack, and I forgot to take into account their added weight."

"What kind of modifications?" asked Serena, looking curious, while Bonnie merely shook her head in exasperation. Though he didn't voice it, Ash was curious as well. Clemonts inventions were always interesting and useful, even if they had a habit of exploding in their faces. On the other hand, his backpack and Aipom-arm were almost always reliable, so it should be safe. He decided to take a step back just in case.

He didn't need to worry however, as Clemont started explaining his invention, as opposed to demonstrating it. "Well, last time we came to this cave, Ash got Pikachu and himself stuck in a parallel world, right?" he asked, looking at said trainer and Pokémon. Ash gave an embarrassed chuckle, while on his shoulder, Pikachu did the same.

"Yeah, that was…interesting," he replied. In truth it hadn't actually been all that bad. You know, aside from almost getting trapped and falling into the void between the two worlds. Really, just another Monday for him.

"Well, we obviously want to avoid that happening again while we're here. Luckily, I was able to pick up some energy readings on my scanner while we were here the first time. Using that data, I was able to build a device that will warn us if those same dimensional energies show up!" Clemont continued, an excited gleam in his eye. Ash knew he loved talking about his inventions, just as he himself got excited talking about pokémon.

"That's a really good idea Clemont," Serena said, giving the budding inventor a smile. Ash knew that even if Clemont's device ended up exploding in their faces, she would still compliment him on it. That's just who she was; Kind and encouraging.

"So, what's it called?" Bonnie asked, looking up at her brother. Clemont grinned, pushing his glasses up a little bit with his finger before replying, "I call it, the Scanner of Dimensional Energy so That we Don't Get Trapped!" Bonnie immediately lowered her head, a look of exasperation on her face. "And another terrible name," she sighed, shaking her head back and forth.

Ash smiled and chuckled to himself as the siblings began bickering with each other. While it was entertaining, he knew that they had to get going if they wanted to set up camp anytime soon. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could have some dinner!

"How about we start looking for a campsite?" he asked, gaining the attention of his traveling companions. Placing one hand on his growling stomach and using the other to rub the back of his head, he continued sheepishly, "I'm kind of hungry!"

The sound of giggling caught his attention, and Ash looked over at Serena. She had her eyes closed, and one of her hands covering her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter. "Sorry Ash," she said between snickers, "but aren't you always hungry?"

The comment led to Bonnie and Clemont beginning to laugh as well, much to Ash's displeasure. "Oh, come on guys, I'm not that bad! Right, Pikachu?" Ash asked, turning his head to look at his best friend. Who was currently trying not to fall off of his shoulder from laughing so much. "Traitor…" he muttered but couldn't keep a straight face. Within moments, he was laughing alongside his friends. It was moments like these that he loved the most about traveling.

Finally, everybody settled down, and they began looking for a good campsite as a group. The best spots were usually a little ways off from the trail. Far enough away to not be disturbed by-or get in the way of-any other travelers that happened to be passing through. However, it also needed to be close enough that they could find their way back to the trail easily, as well as to avoid territorial pokémon. Most pokémon knew that trainers used the trails, and would steer far away from them if they didn't want to interact with humans.

Finally, Ash and his friends came upon what looked like a good spot. It was a clearing in the middle of a small grove of trees off to the side of the trail. As Ash looked around, he spotted a few things that made this seem like an ideal campsite.

The clearing was covered in a thick carpet of grass, dotted here and there with patches of red and white flowers. The ground was level, so they wouldn't be sleeping on an incline, and berry trees lined the perimeter of the clearing. A faint breeze swept through the clearing, carrying the sweet smell of Oran berries on it. Ash could hear the faint sound of a stream somewhere beyond the clearing, so they would have a source of fresh water. In the middle was what looked like an old campfire. A ring of stones with a small area around it cleared of grass and other flammables, with the cold remains of a dead fire in the middle.

"Alright, this looks like a good spot." Clemont stated, mirroring Ash's opinion, and begain taking off his backpack and setting it down with a sigh of relief.

"Yep, it looks good," Ash replied, also setting his pack down. Turning towards his friends, Ash continued, "Alright, Clemont, I'm assuming that you're going to be cooking?" Ash asked, his mouth watering slightly at the thought of dinner. Clemont wasn't quite as good as Brock, or anywhere close to his mother in terms of cooking skill, but he was still far better than Ash was. Serena was about as good at cooking as Clemont, but she was better at baking treats, Pokepuffs and the like. That, and she had cooked yesterday.

Clemont nodded in reply, already taking his cooking gear out of his pack. Ash then turned to Serena and Bonnie. "Alright then, Serena do you think that you could help me set up the tents?" the dark-haired boy continued, already getting his own tent out of his bag. Serena readily agreed; this was the usual way that they did things, but it never hurt to ask. And the sooner that they got done, the sooner they could eat.

"We're going to need some firewood, and some water," Clemont said, as he took a cutting board out of his pack, before putting it on the table. That he had also somehow pulled out of his backpack. Ash had no idea how they did it, but Brock, Cilan, and now Clemont had all somehow been able to store far more things in their packs than should have been physically possible.

"I can take care of that!" Bonnie exclaimed, eager to help as always. Ash nodded, taking out a collapsible bucket from a side pocket on his pack. However, before he could give it to her, Clemont cut in.

"I don't want you going out there alone," the inventor stated, a look of worry on his face. "We're in an area with some pretty territorial pokémon. We should be alright here, but water sources are popular gathering places for wild pokémon."

Ash knew that Clemont was right, but Bonnie seemed determined to go. "I won't be alone. I have Dedenne!" She exclaimed, pointing to the currently snoozing pokémon. Clemont raised an eyebrow, not even needing to speak to get his point across. Ash, however, had another idea.

"I can send one of mine with her," he suggested, holding up a pokeball.

Bonnie immediately jumped on the idea. "Yeah, I'd be safe with one of them! Ash's pokémon are all really strong!" she enthused, grabbing a hold of the lifeline Ash had cast out for her. Suddenly, and idea seemed to occur to her, judging by the excited look in her eyes. "Oohh, can it be one of the ones you picked up earlier?" she asked, eyes shining with hope.

Ash knew that she was talking about his pokémon that he had gotten from Prof. Oak's lab. Earlier in the day they had passed by a pokémon center, and he had traded out some of his Kalos pokémon for some older members of his family. While he would have liked to have called them out already, the time difference between Kalos and Kanto had meant that his pokémon had just fallen asleep. Tracy hadn't been too happy about being woken up himself, much to Ash's chagrin. He'd totally forgotten it was night time there.

As Ash looked at Bonnie, she hit him full force with her growlithe-pup eyes. He knew immediately he would never be able to say no, even if he had wanted to. "Yeah, sure!" Ash said, giving in to Bonnie's request. After spending all day in their pokeballs, he knew that they would be well rested now anyway. Serena looked up from where she was starting to set up her tent, interested in seeing whatever pokémon Ash was about to send out. Clemont, however, interrupted before Ash could push the release button.

"We should probably wait to meet your pokémon until after we get everything set up," he stated, as he started up his grill.

' _Seriously,'_ Ash thought, _'where does he keep that stuff?!'_

Bonnie, however, had a much different question on her mind.

"Aww, but why?" she whined, turning her pleading eyes towards her brother. Years of exposure, however, had given him a solid defense against them. "Because if we let them out now, you'll spend hours fawning over them, and then we'll never get our camp set up," he stated matter-of-factly.

Ash chuckled, realizing that Clemont was probably right. Bonnie reluctantly had to agree with his statement as well, though that didn't stop her from grumbling under her breath about 'mean big brothers.'

Ash laughed, before Pikachu spoke up from his shoulder. "Pi-pika, pikachu!" he stated, patting his chest with his paw. While Ash couldn't fully understand his starter, he usually was able to get the gist of what he was saying.

"Pikachu says that he'll keep her safe," he said, knowing that Clemont would likely agree with the plan. Pikachu was definitely one of his strongest pokémon, he'd be able to keep the yellow-haired girl safe easily.

Just like Ash thought, Clemont easily agreed to let Pikachu escort his sister. Ash's best friend leaped from in perch on his shoulder, and scurried over to Bonnie, beginning to lead her to the stream.

After watching his sister disappear into the woods following Pikachu, the budding inventor shifted his focus to the other female in their group, Serena. "Can you check what the weather is going to be like tonight?" he asked, as he began to chop up some vegetables for their meal. "I'd rather not get caught in a rainstorm unprepared again," he continued. It had happened once or twice on their journey, and it had led to some unpleasant awakenings. Last night, for example. He still needed to dry out some of the electronics in his pack.

Looking up from the tent she had started to set up, Serena took out her Pokegear, and turned it on while replying with a distracted "Sure." Looking at the upcoming forecast, she looked back up with a smile, and relayed the weatherman's predictions. "Should be a pretty clear night, though it might get a bit cloudy tomorrow," she said, much to everyone's relief. No one liked waking up to a rainstorm. Well, maybe some water-types did, but that's beside the point.

"Oh hey, Serena, while you have that out can you check the news?" asked Ash, looking up from a tent stake that he was sticking in the ground.

"Sure," the honey-blond replied, swiping a few times on the devices screen. "Anything in particular that you're looking for?"

"News on the Kalos league!" the young man exclaimed, his eyes brightening at the thought. "I want to know if they've said anything on when it'll be, or if they are done with the renovations yet."

According to some news reports earlier in the month, the company hired to maintain and upkeep the league stadium had found some faults in its construction and were in the process of renovating it. They had also decided to perform some upgrades and enlarge it at the same time, as the last few years they had reached max capacity very quickly. More room, more people buying tickets, more money, or at least that's what Clemont had said.

Swiping a couple more times, Serena's eyes brightened when they found an article. "They do have something!" the performer exclaimed. All eyes turned to her as she read a little bit into it, trying to pinpoint the important information.

"Well?" Ash asked, eyes shining with excitement. He was glad of the chance to train his pokémon a little bit more, but he was eager to take on the league. With his pokémon family behind him, there was no way he could lose!

As Serena continued to skim the article, her eyes alighted on the projected timeline. Ash could see the excitement in her eyes dim, and be replaced with a look of chagrin, as she looked back up. "They found some structural damage to foundations and have to either fix or replace it altogether. The CEO of the company, a guy named Lysandre, said that they're looking at about a month and a half."

Ash groaned, severely disappointed with the news. He and his pokémon had worked so hard to get the required eight badges in time for the league, and now they had to wait even longer for the league to begin.

"Oh well," the raven-haired boy sighed, sounding resigned. There wasn't anything that he could do about it. Knowing his luck, if he stayed in Lumiose City there'd be a random Lengendary attack that leveled the city anyway. It wouldn't be the first time.

Eventually, the trio got their camp fully set up. The tents were pitched, with their sleeping bags already rolled out inside them. Clemont was nearly done cooking, and Bonnie had arrived back with a bucket of water, laughing as Pikachu ran circles around her.

As Pikachu broke off from Bonnie, who was just setting the water bucket down by the fire pit, Ash began a mental countdown _'Three…two…one…'_ Right on cue, the Lumiose city girl whirled around, her growlithe-pup eyes on once again. "Can I see your pokémon now? We're done setting up!" she asked, shooting a quick look at her brother, almost daring him to disagree

"Sure, unless Clemont has something else that needs to get done?" Ash's statement morphed into more of a question at the end, shooting a look towards said blonde. Clemont, seeing the look on his sisters face, quickly shook his head in the negative. "Nope, nothing!" he replied, perhaps a tad too fast, before gaining a considering look. "Actually, what types of food will we need for your pokémon? I don't know their types," he continued, starting to take even more ingredients from his seemingly-bottomless backpack. It was a good question, different types of pokémon liked different types of food. Fire-types preferred theirs extremely spicy, for example, while water-types liked theirs cool and damp.

Ash put his hand on his chin for a minute, considering, before giving a reply. "Let's see, we'll need some electric type food, of course, (a quick _Pika!_ gave confirmation) and a couple of portions for fire types. Make one of them big, but set it aside for later. I'll also need water, grass, and dragon-type foods as well." As he spoke, Clemont began taking out the necessary ingredients.

"So, now that that's taken care of, can we see your pokémon? _Pleeeaaaase?!_ " Bonnie pleaded, a glint that made Ash decidedly nervous appearing in her young eyes. Chuckling slightly nervously, he said "Alright, alright," before taking his pokeballs off of his belt. "Come on out guys!" he shouted, throwing them into the air.

The sounds of multiple pokeballs opening simultaneously filled the clearing, with four jets of light coming from the red-and-white spheres. The energy eventually coalesced into four distinct forms, each letting out a cry after being released.

The first to be released was a familiar sight to the Kalos natives. Greninja's form coalesced into existence, eyes quickly surveying the area before relaxing when no threat was detected. The rest of the newly-released pokémon weren't so familiar.

The first was a large, green, reptilian Pokémon with what looked like a branch from a palm tree acting as its tail. Twin pairs of leaves jutted out of its arms, and fierce yellow eyes looked around its new surroundings. Yellow seeds lined its back, and a small branch jutted from its jaw. The Kalos natives immediately recognized it as a sceptile, having seen sawyer's before.

The second Pokémon to materialize wasn't as recognizable. While bipedal like Sceptile and Greninja, that's where the similarities ended. Its simian body was covered in a reddish-brown fur, with patches of white fur on its feet, chest, and head. Several yellow markings could be seen on its shoulders, chest, and hands. A mane of fire covered the top of its head, flaring brightly upon release before settling back down.

Not recognizing the newly-released Pokémon, Serena scanned it with her pokedex. A mechanical voice filled the campsite as the device began speaking.

" _Infernape: The Flame Pokémon. Its crown of fire is indicative of its fiery nature. Its is beaten by none in terms of quickness."_

The final pokémon to be released was much smaller than the others. Looking almost like a small sharpedo with legs, it was mostly greyish-blue, with a red streak stretching from the bottom of is jaw to its underbelly. A sharp fin grew out of its skull, with a small notch on the end of it. Two appendages that resembled jet engines rested on either side of the fin. A massive mouth filled with sharp teeth yawned open, before closing again.

Once again, Serena pointed her dex towards the unfamiliar pokémon. Once again, a mechanical voice filled the campsite.

" _Gible: The Land Shark Pokémon. It nests in horizontal holes warmed by geothermal heat Foes who get too close can expect to be pounced on and bitten._

"Wow! They're so cool!" an excited Bonnie exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Almost immediately upon being released, the new pokémon excitedly looked over to Ash before swarming him. The infernape started doing what looked like jumping jacks in his excitement, hopping up and down in front of his trainer. The sceptile was much calmer, walking over to stand beside ash, a smile on its reptilian face. The gible, on the other hand…

"Owww!" The gible had apparently decided that his trainers head looked delicious, and had promptly wrapped his jaws around Ash's skull.

"Ash!" Serena shouted, fear lacing her voice. The raven-haired trainer's laughter, however, turned that fear into confusion.

"It's alright, it's alright," Ash said, detaching the ground-type from his head before stroking Gible's fin. "That's just how he greets me. Has been since I met him in Sinnoh."

Serena couldn't help it. She put her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the laugh, but it came out anyway. "Oh Ash," she giggled, a smile crossing her face.

Ash smiled back, a little sheepishly, before turning his attention to his other pokémon. "Hey Infernape, Sceptile. It's great to see you!" he said, grinning while greeting his old friends. "How's life been for you back at Oak's ranch?" he asked, his sheepish grin having transformed into an excited one.

"Nape! Infer-Nape!" the sinnoh starter exclaimed, having calmed down enough to stand still. Sceptile nodded, agreeing with his fellow pokémon. "Tile," he said simply, sharing a quick grin with his fellow starter. Ash began laughing again, exclaiming "That's great!" While he didn't understand them completely, he got the gist of it. His pokemon were happy there, but they were also happy to see him again.

"Pi-Pikachu!" At that moment, Pikachu made himself known, jumping on top of Sceptile's head before jumping back off and running around, calling out to his fellow pokémon. Infernape immediately ran off after him, Gible following as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

"Looks like they want to play," Clemont said, as he finished up with the pokémon food he was preparing. Bonnie began laughing, and exclaimed "I want to play too!" before beginning to run off after the pokémon. A loud rumbling, however, stopped her. Everybody looked over at Ash, who had one hand on his stomach and the other rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Can we play after we eat?" he asked. "I'm starving!"

XxXxX

Dan wiped the back of his glove across his forehead as he stood, sweating from the exertion of maintaining the villages defenses. Deciding to take a small break, the man looked out across the village he was supposed to protect. Up on the hill, he spotted Lute speaking with Chief Omna. Though Dan couldn't see it, he was sure that there was a little velociprey somewhere up there. The child wouldn't be grinning so much if there wasn't.

As they did so often though, Dan found his eyes wandering to the monument just a little ways up from the Hall of Rites. There stood a small pillar of stone, carved with the names of everyone lost on that day. A sick feeling made itself known in the pit of his stomach. Though he knew that, logically, he wasn't to blame, the rider couldn't help the feeling of guilt that came over him whenever he thought about the attack.

Wanting to rid himself of such dark thoughts, Dan cast his eyes upward, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. It was only mid-afternoon. The newest wall had just been completed. That left enough time for one more patrol.

"Lars! Goran!" The simple shout was enough to get the attention of said riders, who quickly made their way over to him. Lars and Goran were brothers. Twins, in fact. Both were heavy built, well-muscled, and tanned from long days in the sun. With their identical armor, both wearing a green variation of the traditional rider's gear, the only way to tell them apart was their weapons. Lars wielded an iron great sword, while his brother favored a large iron hammer.

"Yeah boss?" Lars grumbled, his voice sounding like rocks grinding together.

"We're going on patrol," Dan replied, gesturing over his shoulder towards the village gate. "Mount up and be ready to ride in five." Nodding, Lars and Goran turned and made their way towards their mounts, a pair of Azuros that, like the twins, looked completely identical. Nobody knew how the two brothers were able to tell them apart, but they did. Dan turned and made his way towards his own mount, a Yian Kut-ku that he had named Kuts.

Eventually, the small patrol group made their way out of the village, heading towards the valley. Some of the village riders had mentioned a cave close to the village that they suspected now housed a powerful monster. They didn't know what it was, but they had seen several kut-ku and bulldromes fleeing the cavern. Dan decided it was a good place to start.

XxXxX

"A secret base inside of a volcano, huh?" Lovrina muttered to herself as she began booting up one of her laptops. "A bit cliché, but useful. Plenty of power, anyway." Indeed, several grunts were setting up the small geothermal generators they had managed to snag from their previous hideout. They were normally powered by several captured fire-types, but the plethora of magma inside the volcano would work just as well.

Speaking of said base, Lovrina glanced over at its previous occupant. One Dr. Manegler- who was very pale, for some reason, despite the heat- was currently being questioned by Snattle. While the scientist in Lovrina was _dying_ to learn more, she was needed to get the lab set up properly. Who knew what could have happened to their equipment? The pink-haired scientist looked over at the wall Team Cipher had come through. Well, more specifically, the now-shattered crystal that had once covered the wall. No reason to let Lance and his lackeys follow them, after all.

After checking that none of her data had been corrupted, the Cipher Admin closed her laptop before striding over to a group of grunts trying to set up one of her machines. Glancing over at another passing grunt, Lovrina snapped a command. "Clean up that mess, will you? It'll start to stink otherwise." The grunt saluted, before moving to dispose of the body of Manelger's assistant. When they had first come through, he had been mouthy and quite rude to the Cipher scientist. So, she had politely asked her shadowed Leavanny to remove him. Along with his head. The good doctor had been _most_ cooperative after that little display.

Hmm, maybe that's why he was so pale?

 **A/N: Well, it took a little longer than a couple of weeks, but I finally got this thing up! Though it's probably the most-used excuse on this site, I can only offer up life as the reason that it's so late. I've hopefully worked things out so that I will be able to write more often, but things could just as quickly get complicated again.**

 **For those of you who are wondering about things in the story, such as the attack that Dan mentioned, those will be covered in future chapters. As always, I love reviews, and can't wait to hear from you guys!**

 **In other news, happy new years everyone! Until next time, peace out!**

 **TheFauxWriter**


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